Former MrBeast employees say you 'have to be prepared for anything'
People who were previously employed by MrBeast have spoken about their experience of working for the world’s most popular YouTuber, and made it clear that you always have to be prepared for absolutely anything. MrBeast, real name Jimmy Donaldson, is known for his larger-than-life videos, with bombastic stunts and huge set pieces. All of that takes a lot of work behind the scenes, and judging by the testimony of former employees, it’s far from your average 9-5 job. Speaking to Business Insider, five of the people who used to work with Donaldson spoke about their time with him. Britt Carter revealed that one day she got a call out of the blue telling her to drive to the Great Smoky Mountains straight away – a journey of six hours. Carter said: "You had to be prepared for anything. It was an all-hands-on-deck, all-the-time kind of thing." Carter went on to speak about the job, which she held for six months, saying: "You'd have days where everything was going wrong, working so hard and physically killing yourself to make something happen. But then, the next day, you'd pull off these incredible stunts and pieces of content, and you were on such a high that it makes you forget all those hard hours and days." She later said: "Everybody knew that the mission of the company was to create the best possible video. That came before everything else. That was always the goal. If there was something that could make the video better, you would always defer to what could create the better content." Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
1970-01-01 08:00
Woman charges friends and family £150 each for Christmas dinner
A woman has opened up about her decision to charge friends and family a staggering £150 a head for Christmas dinner. Carla Bellucci recently moved from her Hertfordshire home after receiving hate for her past financial moves, including splashing out £10,000 on her daughter's 18th birthday bash and admitting to getting a free nose job on the NHS during an appearance on This Morning in 2019. Speaking about her decision and being called a Scrooge by trolls, Carla simply responded: "Get stuffed, with all the trimmings." She explained how she's expecting nine people at her Christmas dinner this year, and that it's not cheap to put on a full spread. "It’s not cheap feeding people and it also takes a lot of time to put together a nice meal," she said. I’ll give them a glass of Champagne, but if they want any more booze, they can bring their own. Carla continued: "Everything I do is for profit and my family understands that. If you want quality, you have to pay for it." The former OnlyFans model, who made £40,000 and quit because she found the site "tacky," went on to say that while a carvery would be a cheaper option, her "dinner is going to be a lot more classy than that." "It wouldn’t be any cheaper if you went to a restaurant or hotel for a Christmas Day meal, so why should I be out of pocket? "I’ll have the telly on in the background so they can listen to the King at 3pm and watch whatever they like," she continued. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
The Burlington, Berkeley and Cambridge Spotify memes explained
It's that time of year again, Spotify Wrapped is here! Music lovers have been sharing their 2023 in terms of their most streamed artists, songs and albums - all neatly presented with some cool visuals and graphics. But there's a new feature this year that reveals your own "Sound Town," which basically matches you to a city in the world that has the most similar music taste to yours from your streaming stats this year. "This year, your listening took you places and one place listened just like you," the slide reads as it then informs you which city you got. Of course, the latest feature has inspired memes, particularly those who have Berkeley in California, Burlington, in Vermont or Cambridge in Massachusetts based on their music taste which appeared to be popular places in people's Wrapped report. "spotify is trying to make a gay commune in berkeley, a lesbian commune in burlington, and a bisexual commune in cambridge," one Twitter/X joked. Another wrote: "Back in my day, you had to ask Google “am I gay?” Now Spotify wrapped just tells you by placing you in Burlington, Berkeley, or Cambridge." Meanwhile, Taylor Swift was the most-streamed artist on Spotify globally, with more than 26.1 billion streams since January 1, previously, Puerto Rican artist Bad Bunny was the most-streamed artist for three years in a row. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Henry Kissinger's death brings to an end an long running meme
The death of Henry Kissinger has brought to an end a long-running social media meme that tracked whether he was still alive. The controversial former US national security adviser and secretary of state died at the age of 100 on Wednesday 29 November. Playing an infamous role in the Vietnam War, and blamed for the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians, Kissinger drew strong criticism from the likes of Anthony Bourdain for his heinous actions, after the late chef brutally wrote about him in his 2001 book. As people have reacted to Kissinger’s death, one social media account that had a strong interest in the news was the “Is Henry Kissinger Dead Yet?” X/Twitter account. The account was set up in December 2021 and tweeted every few days tracking whether the controversial political figure was still around. According to the Washington Post, the account was created by an anonymous 26-year-old Peruvian law student. He told the publication: “I think Americans in particular are very susceptible to this very stupid idea that is bad to celebrate the death of an evil person.” In October 2022, a post from the account suggested the creator was growing slightly impatient waiting for him to die. They wrote: “No and I didn’t think this account would be such a long term commitment.” Upon the news that Kissinger has now passed away, a post from the account simply read, “YES”. It has been viewed 13 million times at the time of writing. In the replies, people didn’t hold back on their feelings. The creator of the account was true to their word, after telling the WaPo that when the day came they would tweet “Yes” and “enjoy the jubilation”. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Anthony Bourdain's brutal comments on Henry Kissinger resurface after his death
Anthony Bourdain’s comments about Henry Kissinger in his 2001 book have resurfaced following the controversial politician’s death. The former United States Secretary of State died at the age of 100 at his home in Connecticut on Wednesday 29 November. During his lifetime, some called for Kissinger to be charged with war crimes. And, it seems the beloved late chef Bourdain was not a fan of his after scathing comments from the book 'A Cook’s Tour: In Search of the Perfect Meal' resurfaced. After a visit to Cambodia, Bourdain wrote, “You’ll never stop wanting to beat Henry Kissinger to death with your bare hands”, because of his approval of a secret and illegal war there. Kissinger is believed to be responsible for the deaths of between 150,000 to 500,000 Cambodian civilians after ordering the secret carpet bombing of Cambodia and Laos over four years from 1969. 540,000 bombs were dropped by the US. Bourdain wrote: “You will never again be able to open a newspaper and read about that treacherous, prevaricating, murderous scumbag sitting down for a nice chat with Charlie Rose or attending some black-tie affair for a new glossy magazine without choking.” He continued: “Witness what Henry did in Cambodia ― the fruits of his genius for statesmanship ― and you will never understand why he’s not sitting in the dock at The Hague next to [Serbian President Slobodan] Milošević.” It was not the only time Boudain mentioned Kissinger’s name with disdain after Bourdain responded to comments that he had become a kind of “statesman” due to the way his work had brought awareness around global conflicts and struggles. Bourdain argued, “I’m not going to the White House Correspondents’ dinner. I don’t need to be laughing it up with Henry Kissinger”. “Any journalist who has ever been polite to Henry Kissinger, you know, f*** that person,” Bourdain said. “I’m a big believer in moral grey areas, but, when it comes to that guy, in my view he should not be able to eat at a restaurant in New York.” There's been plenty of takes on social media to the news. As people around the world have reacted to the news of his death, an X/Twitter account called “Is Henry Kissinger Dead Yet?” simply wrote “YES” in a post. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
14 of the best Spotify Wrapped 2023 memes
It's that time of year again, and Spotify Wrapped is all over our timelines. After 12 months of listening, people's (often questionable) music tastes are out in the open for everyone to see. Since first launching in 2017 it's become one of the most talked about things on the internet, with everyone getting a chance to show off how eclectic their listening has been over the past year. But as well as all the serious posts from earnest music lovers, there are plenty of hilarious spoof takes doing the rounds too as Spotify Wrapped gets the meme treatment. These are the funniest takes we've seen so far. It's been revealed that in the UK, the most streamed artists were Taylor Swift, Drake and The Weeknd. Arctic Monkeys were fourth, while Ed Sheeran was fifth. Some of the most popular songs were 'Sprinter' by Dave, 'Flowers' by Miley Cyrus and 'Kill Bill' by SZA. Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
1970-01-01 08:00
Amouranth plans to overtake Bill Gates with £13m land project
An influencer and OnlyFans model has revealed a new $17m project to overtake billionaire Bill Gates – in the fruit orchard industry, at least. Amouranth, who has 6.4m followers on Twitch, spent the money on a huge plot of farmland totalling about 2,213 acres, or 895,569 square metres. She announced the news on X/Twitter, where she said: “Buy land – they aren’t making it anymore.” Amouranth didn’t say what she plans to do with the land, whether she will keep the orchard or convert it into something else, but said “immediate tax benefits” are a part of her thinking. The land cost £7.5m in 2021 but the last investment is almost double that, at $17 million (£13.4m). She said: “The main crop is Valencia Oranges (they aren't as pretty as California orange but taste waaaay better) and most of the yield is turned into orange juice. “Why am I investing arable land? Mainly for the stability, and the steady increase in value expected over the long run (average price of farmland increased 600% from 1945 to 2015).” The other reason is “immediate tax benefits,” she added. “Slowly but surely I’m set to overtake Bill Gates and his 275,000 ag acres.” The internet celebrity has a history of investing her internet earnings in unusual ventures. Her portfolio includes everything from buying a seven-eleven to using her vaginal yeast to sell beer. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
OnlyFans model hit with $500 bill after date refuses to pay because of how much she earns
A 26-year-old OnlyFans creator was lumped with a $500 bill after her date refused to contribute. Annie Knight (@annieknight78) lifted the lid on the awkward encounter while speaking to AU News, where she explained she expected the man to at least offer. Annie candidly shared on one of her viral TikToks that she makes around $150,000 a month. While she admitted that the issue wasn't that she had to pay, she said she found it "ick" worthy that he proceeded to let her pay the whole bill. "The guy expected me to pay. Over $500! Obviously, I paid but it felt really ick. Like he just had that expectation because he saw how much my income is," Annie told the outlet. The model and TikToker reportedly received some backlash for expressing her views in the now-deleted clip, prompting her to contextualise her side to the publication. "I think the people commenting haven’t watched the full video as I stated in the video that I’d be happy to go 50/50, I didn’t expect him to pay for the whole thing so I don’t think it’s fair he expected me to pay for it all," Annie said. "For those saying I should pay because I earn millions of dollars a year, I think that has nothing to do with it. It’s simply a respect thing – he should respect and value my time and therefore be at least willing to split the bill." OnlyFans has become a lucrative side hustle for many and has encouraged some to turn to content creation full-time. Some celebrities have even joined the subscription website in recent years, with Iggy Azalea and Cardi B being hailed as the top-earning creators. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
'Kourtney Kardashian' found in photo from 1912
One eagle-eyed fan spotted a Kourtney Kardashian lookalike in a photo taken in 1912 and people can’t believe the resemblance. The uncanny spot was discovered by California real estate agent and Cuban singer Karina Nuvo who found Kardashian’s doppelganger in an old photograph she happened to see while getting lunch at a local supermarket. Nuvo took a video of the picture and shared it on TikTok, captioning the post: “Was Kourtney Kardashian alive in 1912?” In the picture, a school teacher dressed in an Edwardian-style ruffled high-neck blouse and full skirt looked exactly like the modern-day reality TV star. It’s not the first instance of a celebrity appearing to defy time after Taylor Swift fans dubbed her a “time traveller” after a lookalike was spotted in a 1981 advert. Nuvo also shared the post on Instagram, explaining further: “I went to grocery outlet yesterday to get some soup because I’ve been sick for three days and I see a picture of a school house from 1912 and the teacher looked like Kourtney Kardashian so I thought that was funny.” @lanuvovidakarina Doppelgänger at a Grocery Outlet @Kourtney Kardashian Barker #groceryoutlet #altadena #schoolhouse #1910s #twin #twinsoftiktok #doppelgänger #fyp The video has been viewed 3.7 million times on TikTok and many in the comments agreed that she is indeed Kardashian’s lookalike. “It’s her doppelgänger for sure!” one TikToker commented. Another wrote: “My jaw fell straight to the floor.” Someone else joked: “She was fed up since AGES ago.” Other people also suggested that one of the children in the photo resembles Kardashian’s 11-year-old daughter, Penelope. “Her and Penelope from a past life,” read one comment. Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
1970-01-01 08:00
People can't believe the real meaning behind 'Pepsi'
Everyone’s heard of Pepsi – but far fewer people have any idea how the famous cola-flavoured drink actually got its name. Pepsi traces its roots back to 1893, when it was named “Brad’s Drink” by its inventor Caleb Bradham, a pharmacist in New Bern, North Carolina. Then, it was designed to help people struggling with their digestion, which gives you a clue as to where the later name comes from. The drink started growing popular, and Bradham decided it was time for a rebrand. After a false start with “Pep Kola” – doesn’t quite roll off the tongue – he eventually settled on Pepsi-Cola. And the Pepsi bit? That comes from the medical word for indigestion or heartburn, which the drink was initially designed for: dyspepsia. Many readers will probably have experienced it at some point, but here’s a crash course in the symptoms. Dyspepsia is when you get acid reflux from your stomach. It can also involve inflammation of the gullet, a stomach ulcer, or even stomach cancer. The name could also be linked to Pepsin, the enzyme found in all of our stomachs that helps us with our digestion. It’s all a far cry from Kylie Jenner’s famous Pepsi commercial from a few years ago, or the many other glamorous stars that have helped sell the drink over the years. People were understandably surprised when they learned the real reason for the name on social media. One person said: “I was today years old when I learned that.” "I had no idea," said another. Now manufactured by Pepsico, the fizzy drinks now have 50 percent less sugar in them than in previous years, as part of a health drive in the industry. A two-litre bottle of Pepsi will now have 91g of sugar, reduced from 213g. The classic Pepsi, which comes in a blue can, will now have 4.55g of sugar per 100ml. In a statement on its website, Pepsi says: “We have worked hard to make sure our new classic Pepsi maintains the great taste that people expect while removing sugar and calories.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
Strange bottles keep washing up on shores – and no one will open them
A bunch of eerie 'witch bottles' have been washing up on shores across the Gulf of Mexico, leaving researchers freaked out. Jace Tunnell, a researcher for the Harte Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, shared the discoveries on his YouTube channel where he explained how people stuff the 'spell bottles' with a variety of things including herbs or sharp objects. He said that many believe they offer protection, before disposing of them in a range of places including in oceans or burying them in back gardens. In a recent Facebook post, Tunnell shared his latest finding, writing: "Witch bottle! We find these every once in a while. Folks in certain cultures around the world put vegetation or other objects in a bottle. They are counter magical devices whose purpose is to draw in and trap harmful intentions directed at their owners." Many fellow Facebookers were left intrigued, with one writing: "I want to know what happens when you open it!" Another added: "Bottles can tell such varied and interesting stories and can survive for so long in such varied conditions. So this pic is my fav this week." Meanwhile, a third user penned: "Witch here. I love making witch bottles for various spells of protection and whatever else my intentions are. This looks newer to me, but certainly don't open it. You never know what's inside. Great find!" #Beachcombing - Witchcraft www.youtube.com In a discussion with Fox News Digital, Tunnell acknowledged that while he doesn't feel creeped out by the bottles, he would never open one. He said: "I mean, they're supposed to have spells and stuff in them – why take the chance?" Tunnell opted for a safer alternative and instead displayed the bottles along his fence. "My wife says I can bring shells inside, but no spell bottles," he joked. How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.
1970-01-01 08:00
AI has now animated the famous 'distracted boyfriend' meme to show what happens next
Ever wondered what your favourite meme would look like as a movie? Well, with the help of AI, you don’t have to wonder any longer. 'Movie' might be overselling it slightly, but artificial intelligence has turned one of the most-used memes on the internet into a video clip for the first time. The newly augmented version shows the new depth to the instantly recognisable image, which has been ubiquitous online over recent years. The distracted boyfriend meme has been a mainstay of internet culture since it first appeared back in 2017. It shows a man ogling another woman while walking with his partner – and now the short clip created using AI has given us an idea of what might have happened next. The clip was first shared by Twitter/X user @fofrAI, who created the clip using Stability AI's Stable Video tool. In the new, extended version of the meme, shared by the good people at Know Your Meme, it looks like the man has turned to walk towards the passing woman – abandoning his poor partner. One of the great scandals of the internet age, we’re sure you’ll agree. However, a AI-created clip sees him turn away towards his partner - just as the woman in red turns to face him. Right now, we don't know what to believe – and the clip provoked plenty of reaction. "I find it awe inspiring how many unnecessary, undesirable things AI can do," one unimpress social media user wrote. “Ai is scary,” another said, while another noted: “Yeah except that the girl on the left’s face warps like something out of a horror film.” Sign up for our free Indy100 weekly newsletter How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings
1970-01-01 08:00